Vessel Density around Foveal Avascular Zone as a Potential Imaging Biomarker for Detecting Preclinical Diabetic Retinopathy: An Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) parameters in diabetic retinopathy (DR) using an updated software with 3D projection artifact removal. Methods: In this cross-sectional observational study, 192 eyes of 111 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and 55 eyes of 34 age-matched healthy subjects were included. Diabetic patients were divided into three subgroups: without DR, with mild non-proliferative DR, and with moderate-to-severe non-proliferative DR. All eyes underwent dilated fundoscopy along with 3x3mm and 6x6mm OCTA image acquisition. Vessel density (VD), retinal thickness and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) parameters were analyzed. Correlation analyses between OCTA parameters and DR severity were also performed. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in all OCTA parameters among groups, except for superficial foveal VD in 6x6mm scan and whole image retinal thickness in both 3x3mm and 6x6mm scans, while 3x3mm scan parameters were found to be diagnostically superior to the corresponding ones of 6x6mm scan. As the DR stage progressed, the mean VD values decreased. FD-300, which is the VD of a 300-µm width annulus surrounding FAZ, demonstrated the strongest inverse correlation with DR severity (r = -0.590/rs = -0.562, p < .001) and showed the highest area under the ROC curve (AUROC = 0.833 ± 0.030, p < .001) in scan 3 × 3. Conclusion: OCTA shows progressive decrease of VD parameters with increasing DR severity. Foveal VD, FAZ area, and perimeter are not very useful indexes due to the high interindividual variability of FAZ size. OCTA and specifically FD-300 may serve as a promising DR screening tool for detecting preclinical microvascular alterations.

Full-thickness macular hole formation following anti-VEGF injections for neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: Macular hole (MH) is part of a group of age-related degenerative diseases characterized by pathology of vitreomacular interface. Similarly, neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) affects older patients and is a leading cause of irreversible visual loss. The purpose of this case series is to describe the development of full-thickness MH in patients with nAMD, following antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment. METHODS: Participants in this case series were four patients with nAMD, who received anti-VEGF injections with variable therapeutic response to treatment. Patients were examined at baseline (when AMD was diagnosed) and monthly thereafter. The examination included visual acuity measurement, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and optical coherence tomography. RESULTS: All patients were found to develop full-thickness MH within 1-4 months after the last anti-VEGF injection, even in the absence of pre-existing vitreomacular interface abnormalities in some cases. The median number of injections before the MH formation was 3. CONCLUSION: MH formation may represent an adverse effect of anti-VEGF treatment in patients with nAMD and could be also coexisting pathology with nAMD in older individuals.

Critical Appraisal on Orbital Decompression for Thyroid Eye Disease: A Systematic Review and Literature Search.

INTRODUCTION: Orbital decompression is the indicated procedure for addressing exophthalmos and compressive optic neuropathy in thyroid eye disease. There are an abundance of techniques for removal of orbital bone, fat, or a combination published in the scientific literature. The relative efficacy and complications of these interventions in relation to the specific indications remain as yet undocumented. We performed a systematic review of the current published evidence for the effectiveness of orbital decompression, possible complications, and impact on quality of life. METHODS: We searched the current databases for medical literature and controlled trials, oculoplastic textbooks, and conference proceedings to identify relevant data up to February 2015. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing two or more interventions for orbital decompression. RESULTS: We identified only two eligible RCTs for inclusion in the review. As a result of the significant variability between studies on decompression, i.e., methodology and outcome measures, we did not perform a meta-analysis. One study suggests that the transantral approach and endonasal technique had similar effects in reducing exophthalmos but the latter is safer. The second study provides evidence that intravenous steroids may be superior to primary surgical decompression in the management of compressive optic neuropathy requiring less secondary surgical procedures. CONCLUSION: Most of the published literature on orbital decompression consists of retrospective, uncontrolled trials. There is evidence from those studies that removal of the medial and lateral wall (balanced) and the deep lateral wall decompression, with or without fat removal, may be the most effective surgical methods with only few complications. There is a clear unmet need for controlled trials evaluating the different techniques for orbital decompression. Ideally, future studies should address the effectiveness, possible complications, quality of life, and cost of each intervention.

Glaucoma associated with the management of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

Transient or permanent elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP) is a common complication following vitreoretinal surgery. Usually secondary glaucoma, which develops after scleral buckling procedures, or pars plana vitrectomy for repair of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, is of multifactorial origin. It is essential, for appropriate management, to detect the cause of outflow obstruction. An exacerbation of preexisting open-angle glaucoma or a steroid-induced elevation of IOP should also be considered. Scleral buckling may be complicated by congestion and anterior rotation of the ciliary body resulting in secondary angle closure, which can usually resolve with medical therapy. The use of intravitreal gases may also induce secondary angle-closure with or without pupillary block. Aspiration of a quantity of the intraocular gas may be indicated. Secondary glaucoma can also develop after intravitreal injection of silicone oil due to pupillary block, inflammation, synechial angle closure, or migration of emulsified silicone oil in the anterior chamber and obstruction of the aqueous outflow pathway. In most eyes medical therapy is successful in controlling IOP; however, silicone oil removal with or without concurrent glaucoma surgery may also be required. Diode laser transscleral cyclophotocoagulation and glaucoma drainage devices constitute useful treatment modalities for long-term IOP control. Cooperation between vitreoretinal and glaucoma specialists is necessary to achieve successful management.

Full Thickness Macular Hole Closure after Exchanging Silicone-Oil Tamponade with C(3)F(8) without Posturing.

PURPOSE: To report a case of macular hole closure after the exchange of a silicone-oil tamponade with gas C(3)F(8) 14%. METHOD: A 64-year-old female patient with a stage IV macular hole underwent a three-port pars-plana vitrectomy and internal limiting membrane peeling. Due to the patient's chronic illness (respiratory problems), a silicone-oil tamponade was preferred. However, the macula hole was still flat opened four months postoperatively. Therefore, the patient underwent an exchange of silicone oil with gas C(3)F(8) 14%. No face-down position was advised postoperatively due to her health problems. RESULTS: Macular hole closure was confirmed with optical coherence tomography six weeks after exchanging the silicone oil with gas. CONCLUSIONS: Macular hole surgery using a silicone-oil tamponade has been proposed as treatment of choice for patients unable to posture. In our case, the use of a long-acting gas (C(3)F(8) 14%), even without posturing, proved to be more effective.

Association between corneal hysteresis and central corneal thickness in glaucomatous and non-glaucomatous eyes.

PURPOSE: We aimed to determine corneal hysteresis values (CH) using the ocular response analyser (ORA) in non-glaucomatous and glaucomatous eyes and their relationship with central corneal thickness (CCT). METHODS: Corneal hysteresis, intraocular pressure (IOP) as measured by Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT) and CCT were prospectively evaluated in 74 non-glaucoma subjects with IOP < 21 mmHg and in 108 patients with treated primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). One eye in each subject was randomly selected for inclusion in the analysis. RESULTS: Mean (+/- standard deviation [SD]) age was 59.2 +/- 14.2 years in the non-glaucoma group and 62.4 +/- 9.8 years in the glaucoma group. Mean (+/- SD) GAT IOP was 15.7 +/- 2.65 mmHg and 16.38 +/- 2.73 mmHg in the non-glaucoma and glaucoma groups, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in mean age (p = 0.396) or mean GAT IOP (p = 0.098). Mean (+/- SD) CH was 10.97 +/- 1.59 mmHg in the non-glaucoma and 8.95 +/- 1.27 mmHg in the glaucoma groups, respectively. The difference in mean CH between the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). There was a strong positive correlation between CH and CCT in the non-glaucoma group (r = 0.743) and a significantly (p = 0.001) weaker correlation (r = 0.426) in the glaucoma group. CONCLUSIONS: Corneal hysteresis was significantly lower in eyes with treated POAG than in non-glaucomatous eyes. The corneal biomechanical response was strongly associated with CCT in non-glaucoma subjects, but only moderately so in glaucoma patients. It can be assumed that diverse structural factors, in addition to thickness, determine the differences in the corneal biomechanical profile between non-glaucomatous and glaucomatous eyes. Corneal hysteresis could be a useful tool in the diagnosis of glaucoma.